Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

The time has finally come for The Three Who Rule to sink their teeth into Vincent and the Doctor as the Series 5 commentary series continues. Vincent has been a polarizing episode both amongst the Radio Free Skaro gang as well as much of fandom in general with opinions firmly seated on both sides of the fence. Will opinions change with another viewing and an open debate? Will assertions of greatness or dreadfulness fall on deaf ears? The news of the week rounds out this episode along with a teaser of what’s to come next week… Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

It was a banner week for Doctor Who leading up the programme's 47th anniversary celebrations on November 23, with massive news on both sides of the Atlantic in the forms of a new trailer for A Christmas Carol, a same-day broadcast date in the US, and Matt Smith's landmark appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. All of these events and more were discussed at great length by the Three Who Rule, amongst other notable topics (including Ian Levine's Shada), capped off by a rollicking commentary on the Series 5 episode "Cold Blood". Enjoy, and Happy Birthday, Doctor Who! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The Series 5 commentary series resumes again after an intermittent past few weeks (but you surely didn’t mind all the interviews, did you?) with the Three Who Rule’s take on The Hungry Earth, the first part of the retro-themed Silurian story from this past year. Also, news of Christmas episode titles and another impressive Sarah Jane Adventures story help pass the time before the Children in Need preview later this week and Doctor Who’s impending 47th anniversary. Good fun! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The Three Who Rule were thrilled beyond measure to interview Murray Gold, the esteemed composer of all of the music in the new series, along with the themes to Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. In a wide ranging discussion, Gold held forth on all manner of musical matters and charmed the crew with his wit, verve, and bohemian charm. Oh yes, and some news and the latest Sarah Jane Adventures were discussed. Gold! Listen! Now! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The Series 5 Commentary series rears its head once again as the Three Who Rule tackle fan favourite Amy's Choice with much glee and delectation. More fan enjoyment came this past week in the form of Death of the Doctor, featuring Matt Smith's return as the Doctor in the latest installment of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Fans awaiting the Christmas special got not one but two pieces of good news this week as it was announced that the BFI will be holding an advance screening for the episode while the rest of us have to suffer with a Children In Need clip next month. Join the fandom fun with the whole gang in this episode of Radio Free Skaro before it's gone gone gone! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

A special treat this week: an interview with Dan Hall, Commissioning Editor of the Doctor Who DVD range at 2 Entertain. Dan expounds on many a hot topic in the world of Doctor Who shiny discs, including animated reconstructions, the Revisitations box sets, and much, much more, including a look ahead to what will be a very busy 2011 for Doctor Who DVD fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Also, the Three Who Rule give their thoughts on the most recent Sarah Jane Adventures outing, “The Vault of Secrets”, as well as deal with a few other sundry matters. Enjoy! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The internet exploded in Doctor Who land this past week with fans beside themselves about Regenergate and Gallifrey One hotel rooms, which caused the Three Who Rule to take time out of this episode to allay those fears. Long stories short: Don't Panic. Everything's fine. After those fires were ably extinguished, it was on to the commentary for The Vampires of Venice, a mid-series tome that inspired overwhelming indifference from two members of the Radio Free Skaro team. Did that opinion change...? Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The Series 5 commentary series resumes this week with a look at the latter half of the stellar return of the Weeping Angels, “Flesh and Stone”. Instead of stunned silence, though, which one might expect to occur when watching something as entrancing as this, the Three Who Rule instead descended into heated arguments about Battlestar Galactica and the debatable merits of rock operas. One thing that they could all agree on, though, is that The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone are fine examples of some of the best television ever made. Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The Series 5 Commentary Series gets a bit of a rest as we focus on the news of the week and feature another extended interview with friend of the show, Phil Ford. Phil, along with Russell T Davies, recently won the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Hugo Award for The Waters of Mars, the first such honour for Doctor Who not bestowed upon Steven Moffat, and our own Steven sat down with him to discuss the Hugo, the upcoming Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures for which he serves as head writer, and a lot more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy some time with Phil and his effervescence on this installment of Radio Free Skaro! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

A sneak peak at our interview with Phil Ford, head writer of The Sarah Jane Adventures, coming soon in Radio Free Skaro #218.

After taking the better part of September off to either move to, visit, or stay away from other continents, the Three Who Rule reconvened for their first regularly recorded episode of Radio Free Skaro since the hazy days of summer. And, lo! What a news list to come back to! Some old, most older, but all entirely relevant, otherwise it would have never been mentioned in the first place. And to top it off, there's a commentary on perhaps the best New Series episode made to date, "The Time of Angels". If you're going to listen to one episode of Radio Free Skaro, make it this one! (And all the others, too.)

In a not-so-unprecedented move, Steven and Chris welcome back the Two-minute Time Lord himself, Chip, to take a look at what is thought by many to be the weak point of Series 5 — Victory of the Daleks. The Series 5 commentary series examines where the episode went right and where it went wrong, and of course there can never be enough discussion about the Power Rangers-esque Daleks. Will opinions change for the better? Will they change for the worse? Will Churchill ever put out that blasted cigar when in the bunker? Only some of those questions will be answered in this week’s Radio Free Skaro! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

A Warren-less look at The Beast Below is the focal point of this week's Radio Free Skaro tomfoolery. The remaining Two Who Rule are joined by Chip from the Two-minute Time Lord podcast, as the Series 5 commentary series keeps on truckin'. Grab a glass of non-vibrating water and join the podcest fun as the lads talk all over Star Whales, future monarchs, voting machines and the Smilers and Winders!

The Classic Series Commentary series has ended... only to be replaced by the Series 5 Commentary series. (Any more attempts to use the word "series" will likely cause another crack in time, so we'd best stop there.) We've given the news segment a bit of time off... something that breaks our fictitious award-loving hearts, but on the upside it means no stats! So sit back, relax and have a listen to The Three Who Rule talk about the glorious opener to Matt Smith's tenure! Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

So it’s come to this… the final installment of the summer Classic Series Commentary series has arrived, and oh what an arrival it was. Delta and the Bannermen gets put through one end of the RFS grinder and goodness only knows what will come out the other end. Warren’s notorious hatred of Sylvester McCoy’s tenure underlies the episode, but what did he think of the story when all was said and done? Add to that the collective pants-wetting over the upcoming release of The Seeds of Doom on DVD and pretty much the entire gamut of human emotion comes through in this episode of Radio Free Skaro! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

In this, the penultimate Radio Free Skaro Classic Series Commentary for the summer, the Three Who Rule lucked out with the second segment of the four-part trilogy known as The Trial of the Time Lord. Lucked out, you may well ask? Well, yes, for all three hosts were fairly unanimous in their praise of Mindwarp, and the Trial season as a whole, firm in their belief that Colin Baker’s tenure as The Doctor has been unfairly maligned over the years. Disagree? Listen to the commentary to see if you will be swayed… Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com

The Three Who Rule celebrated the fourth anniversary of Radio Free Skaro by enduring one of the slowest news weeks in recent memory as next to nothing happened in the last seven days in the world of Doctor Who. Fortunately (?), the gang had the latter half of The Keys of Marinus to help them through it all. And if that wasn’t enough to sate them, well, there’s always finding out what story they’ll be commenting on next week. Go, Randomizer! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Warren returns to the fold this week, having thought he had escaped the worst that Doctor Who could offer by missing the commentary for Time-Flight last week. Instead, Hartnell-phobe Warren was given both barrels of black and white mediocrity in the form of The Keys of Marinus, one of the lesser lights of the debut season of Doctor Who from 1964. Actually, the Three Who Rule managed to keep themselves reasonably entertained throughout the first three episodes of Terry Nation’s best non-Dalek script that he ever wrote for Doctor Who…until the thought of having to watch three more episodes next week brought everyone back down to Earth. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Warren ran for cover when he learned Time-Flight was the next up to bat in the Classic Series Commentaries series, so Paul from The Pharos Project podcast was strongarmed into filling his shoes. The crew did their level best to not talk about the story at hand thanks to its less than stellar production values and execution, but from time to time nevertheless felt compelled to address what was on their screens. In a cruel twist of fate, the Randomizer decided next week's commentary was going to be for another story that one of the crew, as with Time-Flight, greatly dislikes... Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

A rare busy news week disrupts the Three Who Rule and their summer slacking off. Series 6 ramblings, fictitious awards, DVD news and talk of the SPACE premiere of The Big Bang at least help to kill some of the time until the Christmas special. The guys soldier on with the Classic Series Commentaries by looking at the first full story recorded with Peter Davison, Four to Doomsday. Which actor will Steven fall in love with this week?, Just how saucy will the lads be in this installment? And what will the randomizer force upon them next week? There's only one way to know - have a listen!

The Radio Free Skaro Classic Series Commentaries kept trucking along this week with a look at another Tom Baker story. The Robots of Death, a wonderful murder mystery, goes under examination in the form of the Three Who Rule jib-jabbering their way through four episodes of Chris Boucher goodness. Oh, and there's some like casting news... or something... about the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special. And Torchwood news. And DVD news. But that's all peanuts compared to robots! ROBOTS!

With the news light in the wake of Series 5 ending, the Three Who Rule were glad of a commentary to tide them over. Image of the Fendahl was the focal point thanks to the powers of the randomizer, a story that stands out for one of our hosts while merely exists for the other two. Come join the fun of the west country accents, slash writers going crazy, lost plots, a golden Wanda Ventham and just about the darkest Doctor Who story ever! And what could possibly be in store for the next installment of the summer commentary series? Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

With Series Five done and packed away, and with everyone staring down the barrel of a six month wait for new Who, the Three Who Rule decided to embark upon a summer of commentary episodes on classic, randomly selected stories from Doctor Who's past. Commentarygeddon began with Meglos, the (unfairly) maligned Tom Baker cactusfest. Dodecahedrons, vocoders and Jacqueline Hill, not to mention a young (and fake) Annie Lennox await! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Something almost completely impossible happened this week in that not only did the Series 5 finale, The Big Bang, provide a fantastic and satisfying end to one of the best series of Doctor Who in recent memory, but the Three Who Rule actually agreed on how much they enjoyed a series finale. From Steven Moffat's mastery of what could have been a convoluted story to Matt Smith's best performance as The Doctor (again, for the 13th straight week), The Big Bang had it all, and it only makes the six-month wait until the 2010 Christmas special seem that much longer. And what will Radio Free Skaro do to pass the time until then? Listen and find out...Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com​

Well, what about that, then? The Pandorica Opens exploded onto TV and computer screens the world over in dazzling and impressive fashion, seemingly including visual references to every monster in the entire history of Doctor Who, presenting us a trio of equally impossible cliffhangers, and throwing in at least three kitchen sinks into the bargain. And yet, it still made for staggeringly compelling viewing, and only whets our appetite for The Big Bang, the final episode of Matt Smith's and Steven Moffat's sterling first series of Doctor Who. The only question now...how can The Big Bang possibly top this?

The news of a fourth series of Torchwood becoming a reality dropped like a bomb in the Doctor Who fandom world, as many had written off the idea once FOX stepped away from the table. With Warren unavailable, Steven and Chris are joined by Chip from the Two-minute Time Lord podcast to talk about Torchwood, cover the latest episode of Doctor Who (Gareth Roberts' "The Lodger"), as well as the news of the week. Will this be another Planet of the Dead, or will Gareth Roberts redeem himself in the eyes of the RFS gang, particularly the relentlessly unforgiving Chris? What does our esteemed guest think of the latest Who?Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

An unconventional artist anchored an unusual episode as "Vincent and the Doctor", written by Richard Curtis, graced our screens this week. Reaction on the internet made it seem like everyone either loved or hated the episode, but the Three Who Rule were...well, you'll just have to listen to the episode to find out. However, Vincent and the Doctor was but one episode released this week thanks to City of the Daleks hitting computer screens... Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com​

With Warren in the Galapagos Islands unleashing his fiendish experiments to make the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a reality, Radio Free Skaro celebrates its 200th episode, keeping things low key and just having a couple old friends over for drinks. Neil Perryman and Simon Harries from Tachyon TV join in the fun with a look at not only the current episode of Doctor Who, Cold Blood, but the gang also gabs about Series 5 as it stands thus far. A bonus treat of some kind words provided by some of our listeners rounds out this milestone episode. Onward to the next 200!Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

It shaped up to be a good week for the Three Who Rule on account of the return of some of their favourite classic series monsters, the Silurians (aka Eocenes, aka Homo Reptilia). "The Hungry Earth", the episode in which they made their first successful appearance in 40 years (see what we did there?), also had a distinctly classic feel to it, making one almost feel like we were watching Jon Pertwee's Doctor and UNIT battling with cave monsters in the 1970s (aka the 1980s). Onwards! Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Given the mixed reactions that The Three Who Rule have had about past attempts of surrealism in Doctor Who, one wouldn't expect the latest noodle-scratcher to be an episode for them to agree on. But that's just what "Amy's Choice" was, a daring and bold step into a world of dreams featuring pregnant Amys, awkward Doctors, and rampant elder abuse. Really, what's not to love? And there wasn't even one hint of The Valeyard making a return appearance. Or was there....?Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Vampires! Venice! Fish people! Disagreement! While two of the Three Who Rule were less than blown away by this latest historical romp, with little else to discuss during this slow news week it was that or stats. Which were also discussed. Harrumph. Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The Two Who Rule (Chris was consumed by a Weeping Angel and sent back in time to 1973) were effusive in their praise of one of the best episodes not only of this season but of Doctor Who's storied history, lauding both Matt Smith for his great performance and Steven Moffat for one of the scariest episodes in recent memory. Without Chris, the Two Who Rule were unable to effectively slag RTD (though they tried) or dismiss David Tennant's contributions to the program (perish the thought!) though they did their best to not slip into a coma while discussing ratings. Allons-onimo! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

A rare occasion for Radio Free Skaro this week in that all three hosts were almost unanimous in their praise of The Time of Angels, one of the true high points in recent Doctor Who history that not even a slightly reduced duration or an animated Graham Norton could spoil. On top of this, the usual cadre of ratings discussions, all of which is also universally positive on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as general blathering about the week that was in Who. Oh, and did everyone remember to watch Over The Rainbow after Doctor Who?

The Daleks are back! And that's.....well, middling. The Three Who Rule chewed over "Victory of the Daleks," including the new, sleek models that have all of fandom agog with either love or hate, the WW2 models that instantly warmed our coal-black hearts, and the jowly presence of one Winston Churchill, saviour of Britain. Still, it's thankfully no "Daleks in Manhattan". Geronim-ate! Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Another strong week for new Who as "The Beast Below" solidified the love of the Three Who Rule for Matt Smith, otherwise known as "the new kid we think will work out just fine." Add a potent mix of thrilling stats, fictitious awards, and rare praise for Torchwood, and you've got a podcast, by gar!

The Three Who Rule were joined by Neil from Hartlepool (and Tachyon TV, tangentially) to celebrate the return of Doctor Who to our screens and to fete the debut of Karen Gillan, Matt Smith, and showrunner Steven Moffat in their respective roles of awesome, awesomer and awesomest. There was much discussion of "The Eleventh Hour," which other than an atrocious new theme tune (and lack of a McCoy era sex wink) was deemed near perfect. All that and news, tomfoolery and a very strange extra feature on the upcoming Planet of Fire DVD round out this episode of RFS. Geronimo. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The new series of Doctor Who is less than a week away and with the question of Matt Smith still largely unanswered, the Three Who Rule were glad of the first proper clips from the new series so as to get a feel for the character. Add to the mix yet another new trailer as well as an extended interview with Matt Smith by Jonathan Ross, talk of the new TARDIS design on Doctor Who Confidential and descriptions for future episodes before we've even seen the first one and the bottom line is excitement! The Miniscope even makes a one-off return, focused squarely at the Who oeuvre, or Whoeuvre if you will, of new show runner Steven Moffat.

Rampant speculation was the order of the day for the Three Who Rule, as a spate of trailers got the thinkin' (and other) juices flowing. New footage! A Dalek! A Cyberman! Several…other things! And 13 days to go before a new Doctor, a new companion, and a new season debut in the UK. All this and a smattering of news, some pedanting, and ribald statements.Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Series Fnarg - check that, Series Five - premiere news was the orderof the day as the UK, US and Australia have all announced detailsabout their respective launches while Canada sits in the backgroundtaking notes. From the bus to the cinema to conventions to the web,all the bases are covered as the BBC prepares to launch the new seriesof Doctor Who. Thankfully the banter gets broken up by the usual raftof fictitious awards and fictitious polls otherwise we could go on andon about global distribution of Doctor Who... and really, who needsthat?Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

A post-Gally funk has set in for the Three Who Rule, but they soldiered on regardless, bringing you the news of the week and the irreverence you know and tolerate. Not that there was much news of course, but this week is only a precursor to the inevitable flood of pre-Fnarg promotion and pimpery sure to come, not to mention the premiere of an entirely new era of Doctor Who in mere weeks. Soon, my pretties, soon. Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The Three Who Rule bury the hatchet regarding The Incident in time to talk to iconic Doctor Who director Graeme Harper in this, the last Radio Free Skaro episode from Gallifrey 21. Harper's work, which indirectly inspired Radio Free Skaro to be created, is discussed at great length, including the controversial Warriors' Gate, the legendary The Caves of Androzani, and how Harper just missed out on directing for Series Fnarg - twice. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

On this special Gallifrey edition of Radio Free Skaro, we delve deep into the dark underbelly of Doctor Who, first in a discussion with writer Tony Lee and artist Matthew Dow Smith about the new Tenth and Eleventh Doctor comics coming soon from IDW Publishing, and second, (and far more sinister) the 2010 Podcast Summit, where the evil practitioners of the dark art held forth on their methods and madness. The terror! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

After the “incident” with Chris on Friday that resulted in no podcast being released for the first official day of Gallifrey 21, Radio Free Skaro returned today in full force with interviews with Nick Briggs, Phil Ford, and Rob Shearman. Listen to these three fine gentlemen regale you with tales of woe, whimsy, and water – not necessarily in that order. NOTE: Chris’s appearance on this podcast is purely due to contractual obligation. We cannot comment on any rumours that have been circulating about Chris’s future on Radio Free Skaro. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

In the second of our daily Gallifrey podcasts, the Three Who Rule delved into the shiny, circular world of Who on DVD with special guests Steve Roberts of the Restoration Team and Steve Manfred of the Doctor Who DVD FAQ. Behind the scenes documentaries, animated Who, and the dicey state of the TV Movie ever appearing in North America were only a few of the topics covered by these fine gentlemen. All that and news, special appearances by fellow podcasters, and the usual whimsy you’ve come to expect from us. Enjoy! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Day One of Gallifrey for Radio Free Skaro was a wild, crazy time, consisting mostly of a vast podcast summit between several renowned Doctor Who podcasters, as well as ourselves. Some of this podcest made its way up to The Lobby at the LAX Marriott, where eight podcasters, including a rare appearance from all four members of Tachyon TV, succeeded in firmly planting their feet in their mouths. Be warned… Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

With mere days to go before Gallifrey 2010 in Los Angeles, the Three Who Rule took it upon themselves to conduct their now-annual rundown of the panels, guests, goings-on and shenanigans sure to occur, all in the name of informing our dear listeners how often we'll be hung over (answer: often.) Stay tuned all this week for daily podcasts, special guests and the most fun you can legally have involving Doctor Who and cast of thousands (well, a thousand and change.) Not all was silent from The Beeb this week, however, as the start date for Series Fnarg has been announced for April 3 on BBC One, hot on the heels of the new trailer for Matt Smith's debut run. Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The Three Who Rule created their own news this week by dropping a small bombshell into the world of Doctor Who fandom by being the first to reveal official BBC details of the upcoming Series Fnarg. Once that was coyly dealt with, and after a dark, sinister, and negative experience watching The End of Time Part One last week, the Three Who Rule were in finer spirits for their second outing in Finale-Stan, the catchily-titled “The End of Time Part Two”. Between Chris’s endless (no really, they just wouldn’t end) gags about slash writers and the occasionally engaging spectacle onscreen, your erstwhile hosts proved to be much more affable on this leg of the excursion, and bile was replaced by hope and optimism as Matt Smith crashed onto our screens and into our coal-black, ginger-hating hearts. Geronimo. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

It had to happen sooner or later, so the Three Who Rule ripped the bandage off by recording a commentary for The End of Time Part One, that neo-classic from Christmas 2009 containing such classic Who elements as magic potions, laser hands, randy senior citizens and Smell-O-Vision. Did the episode fare better this time round after the scolding it received in Radio Free Skaro 174? You decide. Also discussed was news of Gaiman, gay men, and gained men, er, companions. Onwards! Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The news of a Doctor Who movie sent The Three Who Rule so far past the point of bile they circled back around to apathy, but not without taking a few hostages along the way. In a slow news week to end all slow news weeks, digression and hatred were employed like plow horses in an effort to simply fill time. Steven points the gun of spite squarely in a new direction, Warren wastes no time in slagging off other Sci Fi TV shows and Chris even sings a few bars… it’s just that kind of episode. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

In a move that could be precipitated only by Slownewsweekor, the Three Who Rule relied upon Torchwood discussion to fuel the latest Radio Free Skaro episode. The news of Torchwood maybe coming to America hit like a ton of bricks and startled much of the Doctor Who world, causing panic and looting; there may or may not have been talk of small children getting crushed underfoot as a result. Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com